The kids are alright
by wootutoo
Summary: Castle and Beckett settled down and got married. But, what is easier? raising kids or catching killers? I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, all characters belong to ABC and Andrew Marlowe
1. Chapter 1

Hello Everyone!

Before you start reading I must warn you that this story will develop around Caskett _raising_ their kids, it won't have a lot of Caskett cute scenes like other fanfics, so if you want to read about their cuteness you shouldn't read this because I'd be wasting your time. It will have a lot of problems teenagers have now a days, problems we can all relate to, and I hope you'll like that and find it interesting.

Well, with nothing else to add!

Hope you enjoy it! (and forgive if I have some grammar mistakes!) :)

_Anna_

* * *

Her ring tone broke the deadly silence of the waiting room. Kate saw the screen. A smile drew on her face when she realized that the incoming call was from Castle.

"Beckett" she answer the phone. She was already used to pick up like that. Kate couldn't remember when was the last time she used _hello?_

"Castle" the man replied in a mocking voice. "I'm stuck in traffic" he explained.

_What a relief!_ She thank God

"I don't think I'll make it" her husband added

"It's ok, Rick" she said honestly

"No, is not" the man replied. "I wanted to be there. I wanted to be with you"

"Don't worry about it, Castle" she insisted. "I wasn't really looking forward to have you and my gynecologist chatting over Nikki Heat ideas while I'm laying on the bed with my legs open" as if she didn't hate coming to the gynecologist enough, now Richard wanted to tag along too all her appointments.

The female cop heard someone calling her name. She raised her head to see her doctor calling her. Kate quickly said bye to Castle and entered the doctor's office. She had always hated the gynecologist, talking to someone when you're legs are wide open or you're half naked is not really comfortable. But Kate had to go and do the check up.

Everything was fine.  
"You look healthy, you look good" the doctor said "the ultrasound is in order" he added with a smile.

Kate thanked God for the second time in the day.

"So, next appointment, in on month?" She asked, her doctor nodded in approval. The news she had were amazing news, she couldn't wait to tell Castle.

After arranging the date for her next appointment Kate left the office. She didn't know where Castle was, but waiting in the hallways was better than waiting in the gynecolgoist's waiting room. She paid her bill and exited the room filled with pregnant ladies.

"Kate! There you are!" she heard. She turned around to see Castle; he gave her a soft kiss in the cheek "Look who I found!" She immediately recognized a false enthusiasm in his voice tone

Kate then realized Rick was talking to someone before he spotted her.

A person in white coat.  
Dark hair.  
Perfect teeth.

"Josh, hey!" she greeted him. _Great!_ Off all the people she didn't want to meet, Josh Davidson was top 5 "I haven't seen you since…"

"Since you broke up with me, after saving your life, to be with him" he pointed out interrupting her.

Her jaw slightly dropped and her eyes widened. Did he still hold that grudge?

"it's ok, you look happy, I'm happy too" - he added when he saw his comment made Kate uncomfortable

Kate felt Castle's arm wrap her waist and bring her closer. It was no secret that the writer never liked the doctor

"I see you guys got married" he pointed out when he saw Castle's hand. Castle nodded

"Almost two years ago" Her husband said.

"And you are expecting" Josh looked at her belly.

Was it that obvious already? Kate was on her 3rd month of pregnancy, but she didn't feel big. Maybe it was only obvious to Josh, after all he was a doctor. And he was her ex-boyfriend, he knew how she looked with no pregnancy belly.

"Yes" she replied gently. "We're having twins" The cop added with a smile, looking only at Castle now.

The doctor had just tell her, at first she wanted to wait till they where both alone, but she couldn't keep it to herself anymore. The news stroked Castle, who was in shock

"Twins?" he repeated. Kate nodded, still grinning. "Twins! We are having twins!"

The idea was starting to settle down in his head. He looked like he could die of happiness.

"I'm going to have twins with the woman I love!" he screamed to a random nurse that happened to passed by. The nurse looked at him with a lost expression and kept walking.

She bet he couldn't wait to tell Alexis about it. She had overheard them both taking excited about names last night.


	2. Chapter 2

So, here's the second part. I really hope you like it.  
Also, the "chapters" are going to be short but I'll try to upload daily, I think I work better that way.

With nothing else to add!

Enjoy,

_Anna_

* * *

"Rick!" Kate screamed from the first floor. "We are going to be late! What on earth are you doing?"

He was going through Alexis's old stuff.

"Give me one minute! One minute!" He screamed back. He'd have to clean the mess as soon as they come back or Kate would kill him. He opened a small pink box "Ha! Found you" Castle said loudly, but mostly to himself.

He ran down stairs to met his wife. She was beautiful. Rick stopped and stared at her. Kate looked at him, it was a half disapproving and half smiling look. Kate was huge. Her belly was probably one of the biggest bellies Rick had seen in his life. The cop was already in her third trimester. The babies could pop out anytime soon. But Richard had never seen her prettier than that day; well, maybe on their wedding day.

He kissed her gently.

"What were you doing, Castle?" she asked in that tone she uses with suspects "We were supposed to leave 10 minutes ago!"

"I know! and I am sorry! but I couldn't leave without this" Castle showed her a little bracelet made of blue pasta.

His wife raised and eyebrow

"A pasta bracelet, really? Is that more important than your daughter's wedding?" she asked with sarcasm.

"What? it is blue! She needs something blue!" Rick argued as he opened the door and let Kate pass first. Kate smiled, her husband would never grow up

The driver was waiting downstairs. He opened the door for Kate while Richard helped himself.

Truth was that he didn't bring the bracelet just because it was blue. Sure, it was part of the tradition. But this bracelet was one of the father-daughter bracelets they had made when Alexis was 6. Castle had carried his with pride until the point when no pasta survived and only the string stayed around his wrist. Alexis had kept hers on a memory box together with the first picture Richard had taken with the redheaded girl, when she was 1 day old. It was something meaningful to them.

"If you would be the bride, I'd have worried you got cold feet" Charles, Alexis's fiancee, joked when Mr & Mrs Castle arrived at the St. Thomas Church.

The church was beautifully decorated. Very simple. Very Classy. Very Alexis

"She's in there" His son-in-law-to-be pointed at a door at the beginning of the church.

Rick accompanied his wife to their places, they were next to Meredith's. He left Kate with his ex-wife and went into the room where his daughter was.

Alexis was breathing deeply with her eyes closed.

Richard Castle has always been proud of his daughter, but somedays he felt more proud that the other days. And today, seeing her dressed in white, with a small tiara on her head made him feel the luckiest dad on earth.

"Dad!" she said with a smile and run to hug him "I'm so nervous!" Alexis admitted.

"No need, kiddo" He gently touch her cheek "Your decisions are always wise. I thank God you are smarter than your mom and than me"

She let a giggle out. Her dad smiled.

"Today you stop being Alexis Castle in the papers, but you'll always be my little princess" Alexis's eyes watered as her dad hugged her. "Which reminds me!"

He pulled the bracelet out

"Something blue" She said excited "I can't believe you found it!"

She took it with a smile and laced it on the bouquet

"Well... Something old" she pointed at her necklace. It was Martha's favorite and, of course, most expensive one. "Something new" She saw at her wedding dress. "Something borrowed" The tiara, it was Charles's grandmother's "Something blue and..."

"A silver sixpence in your shoe" Castle finished exited. He pulled a coin out of his inner pocket

"Dad! where did you find this? they stopped using them after the 60s!" Her dad was dying of happiness

"I have a contact at the Bank of England" He said as if it was not a big deal.

Of course he had a contact at the Bank of England, Alexis sometimes wondered where didn't her father had contacts. She put the coin in her shoe and thanked him with a kiss

"Ready?" She said walking with him towards the door

"I was born ready" he joked.

His little baby was on the way to become a married woman, he was definitely not ready.

When did she grow up? It had been so fast!  
It was like 5 minutes ago he had helped her to walk, 3 minutes ago he had hold her tight after a terrible nightmare, 1 minute ago he had taught her how to survive a zombie attack.

And now he was giving her away to another man.

Of course he was not ready, but there was no a thing that he could do.

Everything comes to an end, and every happy ending is a beautiful beginning.

"And please don't let mom cry. She looks horrible when she cries" Alexis's voice was almost inaudible with the notes played by the organ.

_Too late_. Castle thought. He looked at Meredith, who was already crying. Next to her was Kate, with a beautiful smile looking at Alexis. Castle couldn't help but smile.

He felt Alexis's hand squishing his elbow pit.

"Everything is going to be alright" He whispered to her with a smile as they walked down the aisle.

And then he repeated it to himself once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Today's update :)

Hugs!

* * *

Kate was lying on the bed readying the book '_how to name your kid for dummies_'. She wanted a name that meant something, not just a name popular name. She had studied with 4 Davids and 3 Jessicas, and she didn't want her kids to have the trending name of the moment.

"You know what I've been thinking?" Castle said coming out from the bathroom.

Sometimes Kate was afraid of what came after that sentence.

"I think we should name the kids with names starting with B and C. B the one that is born first and C the one that is born second" He proposed. "That way my kids would be A-lexis, B-something and C-something, ABC! Isn't that cool?"

He looked like a happy puppy.

"Oh, so that you can't forget which one was born first?" Kate mocked him.

"And if we have another children, the name would start with D" He continued, ignoring his wife's tease.

"I agree. We shall call them Barnaby and Cadence!" The cop proposed giggling. Castle climbed into the bed. "And then we'll have Dorothy, Edmund, Frances and Gilbert, all the way to Zachary"

"Mock me as much as you want, Mrs Castle" He kissed her forehead. She bite her lip and smiled. "Did you know that I'm the happiest man on earth when you look at me like that?" He said.

Truth was that Richard Castle had everything any man could dream of. He had a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, two beautiful babies coming, a good job, a modest fortune. He loved his life.

If he would be someone else he'd be jealous of himself.

* * *

A scream and hard grab woke up Castle in the middle of the night.

"Contraction?" He asked half asleep half awake. Then checked his watch, the gynecologist had told him to measure the interval between the contractions.

"Rick. Rick. The babies. The babies are coming" Kate said between breaths. "My water just broke" She added.

Castle stood up immediately, he quickly went to the bathroom and got Kate's robe. The writer gently helped his muse to stand up and to put the robe on.

Husband and wife started walking slowly. They were on the way to the stairs when the second contraction started.

Castle held Beckett strongly as she went to the birth planet* and came back; the interval between contractions was 3 minutes 20 seconds and the length of this contraction had been around a minute. They needed to go to the hospital.

Richard silently prayed that Kate wouldn't get her next contraction in the stairway, and thanked God when they arrived to the ground floor safely. Then the contraction started. Interval of 3 minutes 15 seconds. Lasting for a minute.

Castle lead Beckett to the sofa, where she sat. She had tears in her eyes from the pain, but she still managed to smile at him. He brushed her cheek and ran into his office to get his keys.

Third contraction.

Kate walked with one hand in her back and the other in her belly. It was the closest position to a comfortable one that she could find.

They arrived to the car after having to stop two more times for contractions; one waiting for the elevator and one when they reached the parking-lot. Castle felt bad for Beckett. With Alexis, Meredith had a C-section so she was not in so much pain. He knew normal delivery was more painful than surgery, but he never imagine it would be like this.

Kate was tough, though, she tried to keep the pain to herself. Trying to show she was fine. But Rick knew her too good to know she was not.

They reached the hospital as fast as Castle thought it was wise. God forbid they were in an accident in these moments. Luckily for them, Kate's gynecologist was in night shift so he meet them at the ER entrance. Castle told him about the contraction intervals and length of contractions, then he was asked to wait outside as Kate was rushed deeper into the clinic.

Castle went outside to text his mother, his daughter and his father-in-law.

It was a calmed night, he couldn't hear any police or ambulance siren. The moon and the starts shined brighter than ever.

Rick remembered last time he had rushed into the ER with Kate. It was the day she was shot. Back then he was hopeless, thinking the woman he loved would die; but not tonight, tonight he was happy, euphoric, his babies were about to be born.

The post-shooting memory made him remember to text Esposito, Ryan and Lanie; Kate had told him she wanted them with her, after all they were also part of the family.

He got a text back from Alexis saying she would be there as soon as she could. Castle took a deep breath and with a smile entered the Emergency Waiting Room

* * *

* to go to the _birth planet_ refers to the moment when the mother progresses into active labor and she appears to go off to another place. She cannot converse well and does not make eye contact


	4. Chapter 4

I think I have nothing to say :)  
Other than enjoy!  
Thanks for reading/reviewing/subscribing!

_Anna_

* * *

"Who's with Mrs. Castle?" a small, fat old lady asked.

Four men and a lady stood up.

"ok…" she paused "Who's Mr. Castle?" She asked again fixing her glasses.

Javier, Kevin, Jim and Lanie looked at Richard; who approached the nurse with a big smile.

"Congratulations, Mr.; your wife just gave birth to a boy, 7 pounds, 19 inches and a girl, 6 pounds, 17 inches"

Castle couldn't hold his happiness inside. It was like from a moment to another he would burst of joy.

He hugged the nurse. Then went to hug the others, starting with Alexis, Martha and Jim.

"Can I come in and see them?" He asked exited. She nodded.

"Follow me Mr.; the rest, however, will have to wait for visit hours" The fat nurse added referring to the family and friends that were with the writer.

"You guys should go home and get some sleep" He said when he saw it was nearly 6 a.m "I'll tell Kate you were all here, thanks for coming!" he added looking at the restless faces who had come to keep him company.

He kissed his daughter's forehead and wave goodbye to the others.

Castle followed the lady up to the 3rd floor and across some hallways. Butterflies start flying in his stomach when he read the name "Kate Beckett-Castle" in the door of the 307 room. The nurse opened the door and let him in.

Kate was half asleep with one of the babies in her hands.

His wife looked so pretty, so full of peace and life.

"Castle… Hi" Her face brightened when she saw him "Look, our son, Benjamin" the newly mother added, making emphasis in the B. Castle's eyes widened. "Yes, he was born first" The father laughed.

He came closer to his wife. Kate then looked at the baby girl sleeping in the cradle next to her bed. Richard took the her in his hands, she was so small. Smaller than Alexis. Or maybe he was just fatter now.

She was so pretty, so calmed. Castle sat on Kate's bed without taking his eyes of their baby girl. She had already stolen his heart.

"Can I name her?" He asked his woman. She nodded smiling "Then you will be Constance, my little Connie" he said

The writer caressed Connie's cheek. She frowned

"Look, not one day old and she already looks like you" He teased Kate.

The mother and the new borns quickly feel asleep. Kate had put Benjamin in his cradle, but Constance slept on his dad's arms.

Castle was tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. There was too much happiness flowing through his veins. In his mind lots of plans were being made.

Campings. Santa. Reading Comics to them. Tooth-fairy. Homework; no, homework was not cool, Kate would do that with them. Baseball games on Central Park. Going to see the Yankees. Harry Potter all over again. Family Laser Tag time. Sweet sixteen; no, boys are invited to sweet sixteen, Constance will not have a sweet sixteen.

A gently knock on the door brought him back to reality. He stood up and walked towards the door. Alexis was outside, she was standing with a huge smile on her face.

"Kate is sleeping" he whispered. But his daughter's mind on another place.

"_Oh, my God!_" she said looking at her new baby sister. "Aren't you the cutest baby on earth?"

And with no consent, the redhead took the baby from her father's hands.

"Hello, Baby, I'm Alexis, your older sister. And by older, I mean waaaay older. I could even be your mom!" She chatted with the Constance. "What? you don't understand how? Well, our dad's got some issues"

"He does not" Castle said offended. "And don't say that to Connie! She loves me" Alexis giggled

They entered quietly. Rick knew that Alexis always wanted siblings, but he didn't know how much joy it would bring to her. She didn't know which baby to hold, she wanted them both. It was like that time she had to choose between two kittens. Maybe Alexis was married and had another life now, but at that moment she was his 6 year-old princess again.

Jim and Martha were the next to come. They had threatened with kidnapping the kids and running away to Bahamas. Richard reminded Kate was a cop, they didn't seem to really care. They left together with Alexis, around 10 am.

* * *

Kate was feeding Benjamin when Kevin, Jenny, Javier and Lanie arrived.

They had big helium balloons that said "Congratulations! it's a boy" and "congratulations! it's a girl!". They also had flowers and two teddy bears .

Jenny took Constance on her arms and started cooing her while Kevin caressed her little arm with his index finger. Esposito looked at Benjamin with a strange expression on his face.

" Oh, common, Javier Esposito" Lanie exclaimed "As if you have never seen someone sucking a boob"

The male detective opened his mouth to reply but Kate interrupted

"You guys look so cute when you do that" Lanie raised an eyebrow, she knew that after years of teasing, it was Kate's turn now "but before you continue. Rick and I want to tell you all something"

"Are you pregnant again?" Esposito asked concerned. Lanie hit him with her elbow.

"Yes, how did you know?" Kate said between laughs. "Besides that. Rick and I want you four to be our kids' godparents. Kevin and Jenny would be Constance's and Javi and Lanie would be Benjamin's"

Castle smiled at his friends.

"I think" Ryan said with watery eyes "That I speak in behalf of all of us when I say we'd be proud and honored"

"Dude, are you crying?" Esposito teased him

"Of course not! I have something in my eye" the blonde detective scratched his eye. But that didn't stop Esposito from bothering him

Kate looked at her friends with a big smile. She never had a big family growing up, it was always her parents and herself. Then it was just her father, her and an empty house; but now she had a huge family, with friends that were like cousins, an amazing husband and the two pretties babies she had ever seen.

Everything was alright.

More than alright. It was perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

I know I promised daily updates and I was REALLY bad at keeping that promise. I just have too much going on with college and life and family, I guess you all know how it is..

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify to those who say that I go too fast, I'm kind of fast forwarding to the teenager years. I'll write some funny/important parts while the twins are babies, but the story will mainly develop when they are 16-19 years-old (or at least that's what I plan on doing :P)

So, sorry for the time it took me to update and for the fast forwarding!  
Hope you like all the happiness on this "chapter" because things are going to start getting bad...? messy...? sad...?  
Ah, well... I guess we'll all see!

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Anna

* * *

"Who isn't going to date anyone till college?" Castle asked the baby he held "Who won't get a tattoo when she's a teenager like her mom did?" The baby laughed at Castle's funny face

"What are you telling to Connie?" Kate said as she walked down the stairs with Benjamin in her arms

"I said that..."

"I heard, Rick" she interrupted. "The statement was in a disapproving tone rather than in a inquiring one"

The door's bell saved Rick from whatever Kate was going to say next. He went to the door and opened it. A redhead kissed the writer's cheek and took Connie in her arms. Castle's mouth opened but he couldn't say nor do anything about it, Alexis loved her siblings and her siblings loved her. Charles entered after Alexis, carrying a big picnic basket; he shook Castle's hand.

Alexis helped Kate to prepare the diaper bag while they both talked excited; it was the first time they would go out since the twins were born, Alexis had planned a picnic in Central Park. They were all pretty thrilled, especially Alexis; who just didn't seem to have enough of her half-siblings.

It was a cloudless and warm spring day in NYC. They chose a sunny spot. Far enough to not be bothered by the other people, but still close to feel the happiness that came out of every kid playing around. The birds' song made a beautiful background music to the Castle's picnic; the smell of the flowers filled everyone's soul with joy. It was a perfect day.

"So, we've got some news" Alexis said when they were all sitting on the picnic blanket. She was playing with Connie, who was sitting in her lap, "I'm pregnant" she said with a big smile, squishing Charles's hand

Kate's smile lighted her face up. She put her hand over Alexis and Charles's

"I'm so happy for you both! Congratulations!"; she then turned to Castle, who was in shock

The writer was holding Benjamin; his body was with them, but his mind was somewhere else. His baby girl was having a baby. He was going to be a _grand_father. He became father for a second time 4 months ago, and now he was going to be a grandfather, how can that be even possible?. Richard felt everyone's eyes on him. He blinked twice and smiled at his family.

"Wow, Alexis, that's great news!" he said sincerely. "3 babies Castle in less than a year! I must be the luckiest man on Earth!" Excitement was starting to fill his voice tone.

He could already imagine all together for Christmas and Thanksgiving, movie nights, slumber parties, geek-education, comic-con trips, cosplay, halloween. He was going to be THE greatest father AND grandfather; he was going to spoil each and everyone of his babies, and love them as much as he could.

Castle wondered if it was just the spring day that filled his soul with happiness, or the fact that he had everything and even more of what he had always dreamt of.


	6. Chapter 6

So, where we go.  
BTW, if you spot a grammar mistake, you can let me know ;)

Besos,  
Anna

* * *

There haven't been a minute of peace in the Castle household since the twins started crawling. Connie and Benjamin, now called Benno by almost everyone, were hyperkinetic and didn't stop until it was bed time.

"I'm exhausted" Castle said while he followed Benno around. "I think I'm too old for this!"

Kate was feeding Connie and muttering the word _'mama'_ between spoonfuls. Benno could make sounds for a week now, but Connie didn't make any sounds at all; the young mother was starting to worry.

"Maybe we should take her to the doctor" she said not paying attention to her husband's complains.

"Kate, it is perfectly normal for a baby not to start talking right away" the writer picked his baby boy from the living room's floor and walked towards Kate. They have had this conversation almost everyday since Benno started talking "Connie is a healthy baby, she'll start talking when the time is right... After all, she has my genes" he tried a joke to make her feel better; that, and Benno's _Mmamma, _didn't help.

He didn't worry much. Alexis started speaking when she was one year-old, and no one could keep her quiet since then, especially now when she was all bubbly because of the pregnancy.

The problem was that, having a twin was like having a reference and/or comparison book. It had been the same when Connie started crawling before Benno. Why did Connie crawl and Benno not? Kate couldn't sleep for days. Now it was, why could Benno speak and Connie not?.

Castle could imagine his wife worrying all life. Why did Connie's tooth fell and Benno's not?. Why can Benno ride a bike and Connie not?. Why can Connie ice-skate and Benno not? Why did Benno score an A+ and Connie not?. Why Connie has breast and Benno hasn't? That last one made him smile.

"You think it's funny Connie can't speak?" Kate asked upset.

"Kate" He came back to reality. "She will start speaking, just a little bit after Benno. It is normal. Stop..."

_Pa pa pa pa-para pa-para. _The Star Wars theme song interrupted him. His phone started buzzing.

"Richard Castle" he took the phone call. Kate returned to her muttering. "Yes. I hear you" Castle was struggling with Benno, who was first trying to grab the phone and then trying to return to his crawling activities. "Wait, what?" He gave the baby to Kate. "Yes. I'll be there in a second" He then hanged up.

The writer started looking for his keys with desperation. Kate stood up with Benno on her arms.

"Rick, what's wrong?" She asked walking towards him.

"Alexis... Hospital... Bleeding" He mumbled in some kind of shock tone. "Where are my keys?!"

Kate spotted them over the piano. "I'll call my dad to watch over the kids and I'll meet you there" She said while she handled him the keys with a comprehensive tone.

He found a little bit of peace in her eyes, kissed her goodbye, and left their home in a hurry.

She called her dad and, after giving him a short explanation, she asked him to hurry home.

The only sound breaking the silence in the apartment was Benno's _Mmamma_. The baby then started to struggle to get on the floor again, he hated to be carried.

Connie was a little bit agitated in her baby chair as well. Kate wondered if her father could take care of both of her little earthquakes. She highly doubted it; it was hard enough for her, who was younger and fitter than her father. The detective chose to call Martha; who was in the middle of an acting class, but cancelled her plans as soon as she heard the news.

It took them 10 minutes to get there. When both, her father and her mother-in-law, arrived; Kate grabbed her coat, kissed everyone goodbye and rushed to take a cab.

She was prepared for the worst.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey!

Thanks for the reads, favs and follows, they keep my inspiration alive; yes, you guys are like my Kate Beckett  
Also, I got a review and I try to follow it as much as I could. Tell me your opinion people! I won't bite ;)

And, last but not least, here is a promise I will most likely keep; I won't update till January 11th. I have a partial that day and I think it is wiser if I just concentrate on it right now.

Other than that,  
Hugs, enjoy and see you soon!

Anna

* * *

Kate arrived to the ER as fast as she could. She could feel the sadness in the room, it was like suddenly the air had gotten heavier and the light darker. The emergency room was crowded with people with all kinds of emergencies: broken bones, cuts, allergies; but Kate spotted Rick right away.

He was sitting in a chair all by himself. His palms rested on his knees and his eyes were fixed on the wall clock. Rick's mind was so lost on the clock that he didn't even realize Kate sitting next to him until she held his hand. He looked at her, his beautiful blue eyes were filled with sorrow. Kate felt sorry for him.

"Alexis had a miscarriage" Rick tried to hold the tears while he explained what had happened. His wife looked at him with empathy. She wish there would be a manual for situations like this, she didn't know what to say. She caressed the dorsal part of his hand, letting him know that she was there for him.

Some doctors passed by, but no one stopped to inform them about Alexis health state. Kids cried, people coughed. Everyone was too busy in their own business to mind the other people.

"She started having intense abdominal cramps yesterday and started bleeding today" Castle continued after a long pause. "She's now in the surgery room, the doctors said that they need to remove some things that didn't exit the body naturally" Kate's eyes were filled with tears.

Castle leaned over and rested his head on Kate's shoulder, she held him tightly. All she could think about was of how devastated Alexis will be when she wakes up from her surgery. This pregnancy had changed everything for her, it was pretty much the only thing Alexis wanted at the moment. Kate tried to imagine how hard it should be to be on Alexis's position. She would have never guessed how deep is the bond of a parent with his or her kid until she had her own children. Losing a parent was pretty tough, she knew by experience; but losing a kid? Connie and Benno were her life, if something would happen to them, nothing would have sense anymore.

They waited in silence for minutes, maybe hours. All Rick knew was that they felt like years.

"Alexis is out of the surgery room, and most important of all, out of danger" Said Charles crumbling next to them. He looked like he had run the IronMan Triathlon "She's still asleep, but doctors say she'll be able to leave the hospital tomorrow" he added.

Rick looked a little bit more relieved with the news. But Kate knew him too well, she knew that as soon as he saw Alexis he'd worry again. He asked Charles what was his daughter's room number and after getting the answer he stood up and started walking with Kate by his side towards the place where Alexis rested.

The room was almost dark, the only things brightening it were the vital signs monitor and a beam of light that entered between the curtains and ended on the floor next to the bed. Alexis's vital signs were stable, but she looked pale and somehow skinnier.

Castle felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as he approached to where his little girl laid. He moved a chair closer to the bed and sat next to the unconscious red head.

Kate had never seen Rick so worried. She felt like she needed to step out for a while, like he needed a moment alone with his daughter. Plus, she had to update Martha and her father about Alexis's state. She gently squishing her husband's shoulder, she told him she would call their parents to let them know Alexis was outside any risk situation. He dedicated her a small smile and watched her exit the room.

"I'm_ so_ sorry, pumpkin" he said brushing his daughter forehead kindly with his thumbs when they were both alone. Alexis reacted to his voice and touch. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked couple of times, still under the anesthetics' influence.

"Daddy" She said in a broken tone. The same scared and sad tone she used when she was a kid and she had just wake up from a nightmare or when she had hurt herself.

"Everything is going to be alright" Castle sat in the bed next to her and hugged her. "Daddy is here" He said while kissed her forehead like he used to do when she was her little girl. "Everything is going to be alright" he repeated.


	8. Chapter 8

Sup, guyz!

Sorry it took me a while. Things have been interesting around here...

Anyway, thanks for the new follows! Hope you'll all enjoy this one, it is kind of short but I promise I'll update before saturday!

Hugs,

_Anna_

* * *

A lightning lighten up the living room.

Castle was sitting alone on the sofa watching the rain drops race down the window; yes, he was that bored. The twins were having their _siesta_. His wife, Kate, took advantage of that and was having a shower; no, she didn't invite Rick.

The door's bell rang.

The chinese food had finally arrived!.

Castle rushed to the entrance filled with happiness, he was starving.

But it was not Lin who rang the bell and was standing in front of the open door, it was Alexis. Castle looked at her. His daughter was wet as hell, like if she had entered into a shower with her clothes on. But it was not the state of her clothes that caught his attention, it was the tears that ran down her face.

Yes, Richard could tell tears apart from the water drops. Especially Alexis's tears.

He let Alexis in and told her he'd get her something warm. He went into his room and took one of his warmest sweatshirt, one of Kate's sweatpants and a towel so his daughter could dry her hair.

Alexis went into the laundry room to change into the dry clothes and put the wet ones in the dryer. When she came out her father asked what was wrong. They sit one in front of the other one. At the beginning she didn't want to share the reason of her sadness; but after some time, she started talking.

Ever since the miscarriage she and Charles haven't had a moment of tranquility. Every second they were together, they were fighting. The only peace of mind she found was when she was at work; but as soon as she and her husband were back at their home, the screaming would start again.

Kate sat next to Alexis and put her arm around Alexis's shoulders. They had grown close in the past two months; since Alexis got out of the hospital, her second step-mom had been always there for her. Alexis felt save with Kate; she laid on Kate's shoulder and Kate hugged her.

Mrs. Castle looked at her husband with an inquiring look. He looked back at her; with the exception of punching Charles in the face, Richard honestly didn't know what to do. Kate raised an eyebrow.

"Alexis, why don't you stay a couple of days with us?". The cop suggested.

She shrugged her shoulders and said nothing.

"You could help me with the twins since Rick has some writing to do and we could have some girl-bonding time". Kate added. "It'll be fun!"

Alexis agreed with an almost inaudible _OK_ and stayed leant on Kate.

The writer looked at his muse, he was worried, he had never seen his baby girl like this. Kate also felt uneasy, deep inside she suspected that there was more to the story Alexis has just told them; Kate worked with people covering their lies, but this was not her job, this was her step-daughter doing through a depression. They had no other option than to wait and see if Alexis would open up.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for the positive response I've been having lately :D

Sadly, I won't be updating till monday/tuesday

Anyway, here it comes!

And leave opinions, I don't bite _-much-_

__Anna

* * *

It was Alexis's 3rd day at her dad's loft. And Charles didn't pass by, he didn't even call, to see how his wife was doing. Beckett thought he was behaving like a douchebag. She knew not all marriages worked well, but three days without calling? It was just wrong. That proved that there was so much more to the situation than what Alexis had told them.

It ate her alive to know that Alexis was suffering and that she couldn't do anything about it. What kind of step-mother and friend was she? Kate saw Alexis sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her breakfast.

"You know, I could always make you pancakes if you wanted to" She offered. Alexis raised her eyes, tears about to burst out. It shirked Kate's heart.

She walked towards Alexis and hugged her. Alexis hugged Kate back.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Her step-mom asked "You haven't been eating properly since you came, you are sad and about to start crying all the time..." Kate brushed her hair, truth was Alexis had lost a lot of weight and happiness since the miscarriage "I know is hard to have fights with the ones you love, but this... Well, you've got your dad and me worried"

Beckett sat next to Alexis and looked into her eyes. Those beautiful, big, blue eyes she had were a pool of sorrow and despair. Kate wanted to magically absorb all the pain from Alexis's body.

"Talk to me, Alexis!" Kate insisted. She was so desperate to know the truth, to know what to do to make it better.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to have kids?" Alexis let out. Every word filled with so much pain. Kate looked at her with compassion.

"Alexis, a lot of women lose their first pregnancy, is almost as normal as having a first child." Alexis continued to stare at her food.

"Charles says I'm damaged." A tear came out of her left eye.

Kate couldn't believe what Alexis had said. Her mouth opened with indignation, she was in shock. How could someone say something like that?. Alexis continued talking.

Right after Alexis's had come back from the hospital, Charles said he wanted to file their divorce or marriage annulment whatever was faster. First she thought it was just a phase, it was because they were both hurt due to the miscarriage, so she said they would get through this together. But the fights and pain her husband caused her didn't stop there. He kept commenting how he had "bought" an defective object; how hard it would be to be alone with her _till death do them part_. Alexis proposed several times to try and have kids again, but Charles always came back with a "Why waste my time?", "You'll just lose it again" or "There is no point on doing that".

Kate looked at Alexis with horror in her eyes. No wonder why Alexis was such a mess. She just wanted to grab her gun and shoot Charles two or three times; ok, maybe ten.

Alexis went on.

"Two weeks ago he came home with his secretary. He said that he was having an affair with her, that she was moving in and that I was _lucky_ he didn't just throw me away like the damaged artifact I was" Alexis sobbed. It was hard to talk about it, no doubt. "He's not the man I used to know" she added, then she started crying.

This time it was a sincere cry. Like the ones you have after you let everything that bothers you out. She was so broken, so weak, so helpless. It killed Kate.

"Maybe he's not the man you thought he was" Kate replied. She hugged her as tightly as she could.

Kate was sure Charles was using the miscarriage to blame their failed marriage on Alexis; when the only one to blame was himself and his indiscretions. But Kate didn't tell that to Alexis, she had been hurt already too much times for Kate to do that.

That man was an imbecile; he didn't deserve someone like Alexis, he didn't deserve her tears.

He deserved Kate's bullets, that's what he deserved.

"I don't know what to do anymore" Alexis let out, with her head still on Kate's arms.

"You get an annulment, Alexis" The cop knew it was hurtful, but it was the best solution. Alexis nodded and sobbed one again. "With proof, Castle and I can fix it, we have enough contacts on the Justice department"

A small smile appeared on Alexis's face, it was not the joyful smile she used to have; but it was an _eventually-everything-will-be-OK_ smile, and Kate could work with that.


	10. Chapter 10

No more pain for Alexis! At least for a while.

Also, when I finished writing this chapter I realized there's an inconsistence with it and the series: the rooms. So, to clarify; I decided that after the twins were born Kate and Rick moved to Martha's room to be closer to the babies, the babies are using Alexis's old room and Martha -yes, she's still living with them- moved to Rick's old room.

Thanks for understanding!

And thanks for the new follows! :)

Anna

* * *

The phone rang in the middle of the night. Kate tried to find it in the dark, half-confused half-asleep.

"Beckett." she said in a sleepy tone.

"Detective Beckett. Your husband has been arrested." A man with a deadly serious tone said at the other side of the phone.

She sat in her bed. That couldn't be true. Castle was sleeping next to her, right? But when she turned, she find herself alone in the bed.

"What did he do?." She asked the officer.

_Please, God; let it not be something stupid._

"He disturbed the peace in a bar near your house. He punched a man." The cop replied her question. _Great_, now Castle was hitting people around. "You can bail him." The officer added.

Kate said she'd be there in a moment. She hanged up the phone and went to get dressed. The detective was so tired, she didn't know how her younger self managed to wake up at any time she was on call; which made her wonder, how would she continue doing her job once the twins were old enough to go to the day care?.

Before leaving Kate woke up Alexis to let her know she was going to the precinct; Alexis panicked a little when she heard her father was arrested, but then she was reminded by Kate that it was not the first time her father was behind the bars. At it was not the first time Kate had bailed him out.

.

She asked Joe, the police at the gate, where her husband was. There was almost no one in the precinct at that time; halls, offices, elevator, everything was empty. The only thing keeping her thoughts away was the sound her heels made as she walked.

When the Detective Kate Beckett entered the 3rd floor all the cops sat straight and stopped talking, Kate notice they were barely breathing; she was one of the most respected detectives in the whole precinct. Her reputation hadn't come easy; it was the result of years of working over night, not stopping until she caught the right guy, being on call over the holidays, etc.

She talked to the officer, named Robertson, that was in charge. He explained Castle was not drunk at the time of the fight, and that he had only hit one man named Charles Dickson.

At least now it all made sense.

The officer also added that when Charles said he'd press charges against Castle, her husband replied he was not afraid of a cheater bastard and went forward to punch him again.

So much for Castle's chivalry.

Robertson finished his speech saying that they didn't file a report since Charles never came to press charges, and therefore it would all stay off the record. But if Castle got caught in any type of act of violence again he would have to face a jury.

As they spoke, a cop brought Castle and set his hands free. His hair was a mess and his knuckles were a little bit bloody and a bag of ice was covering a little bruise that had already started to appear under his left eye. She looked at him resentfully. Kate thanked Robertson, she added she couldn't thank him enough for what he had done and, with out saying a word to Castle, they walked towards the elevator.

"I knew you'd get me out." He said when he and his wife were on their way to the ground floor. Beckett had told him years ago that she'd take him out of jail if he was ever behind bars. His smile disappeared when his non-bruised eye met Kate's face.

"Damn it, Castle!" She said angry. "You can't go around hitting people."

"He deserved it! You know how he treated Lexie!" He replied in his defense. But Castle knew there was no way he could ever win on an argument against his wife.

"And don't you think that I am mad at him? That I didn't want to strangle him when Alexis told me?" She was furious. But she didn't say anything else as they walked down the hallway to exit her working place.

She said goodbye to Joe as they passed by. The officer looked at Castle with compassion, he knew someone would be sleeping on the couch at least for a night.

She turned on the car and started driving. Beckett broke the silence between them.

"Look, Castle." She started. "It's really nice you care about Alexis, and I know you'll do the same with Connie and Benno, but you have to understand, there are some things you just can't do! Specially if you are married to a Detective!"

"I-" His words trailed off. Castle didn't know what to say. She was right. He didn't even wanted to hit Charles at the beginning; but when Charles walked towards him to introduce his _girlfriend_, he had just lost it.

By the way he sat on silence, Kate understood that Rick already felt bad enough. So she remained quiet the rest of the ride.

.

Castle opened the door in the dark and let her enter first to their home. Kate was almost on the top of the stairs when she saw he wasn't following her. He was fixing the pillows of the living room's couches.

"What on earth are you doing?" She whispered to her husband.

"I'm getting comfortable." He said while he continued moving pillows from one sofa to the other one.

Castle looked at Kate confused when he heard her giggling.

"You are not sleeping in the couch tonight…" She said calmly. A smile brighten up his face.

Castle walked towards her. He had the best wife on earth; everyday that he passed by her side, he was more and more sure that he had won the biggest lottery prize the day she had said yes to his proposal. She didn't move from the spot where she was standing on the staircase.

He stopped a step below and looked at his beautiful wife. She passed her arms around his neck.

"Don't be so disappointed. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of nights ahead of us that will end up with you sleeping on the couch" Kate teased him as she leaned a little bit to give him a soft kiss. Then she let go of him and walked towards their room to go back to sleep.

Castle stopped at the twins's room. Since Alexis had moved in, she had been sleeping in their room, her old room, as well. He watched at his kids with a big smile in his face. They were sleeping so peacefully, he wondered what were they dreaming.

His writer imagination started working.

Connie was dreaming she was a rebel spaceship driver and she knew the universe like the palm of her hand. Benno was a superhero, he was flying the sky, looking for a damsel in distress. Alexis was probably dreaming the same thing she dreamed when she was five years old, she lived in a big house with a lot of siblings, a dog and a rabbit called _Bartholomew_.

Then an idea hit him.

He walked fast to his room and woke Kate up.

"What now, Castle?" She was annoyed. But he couldn't wait till the morning to tell her.

"Let's buy a house!" He said while he sat next to where she was sleeping. His eyes wide open, a little smile in his face. "A big house with an amazing garden and a pool!"


	11. Chapter 11

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the reads and follows! It means a lot to me.  
I'm overloaded with college but I managed to write this during my ride back home, so I wish you like it.

Also, I can't promise when I'll update, but I'll try to make it before next tuesday!

Hugs,  
Anna

* * *

"We are going to be late, Dad!" Alexis, with Connie in the stroller, called from the living room.

Ever since Kate had started working again, Rick and his kids had been spending all the time they could together. Gates had offered Rick his place at the precinct but he and Kate had decided maybe it was better if he would stay with the kids a little bit longer. He assured Gates he'd come back with his brilliant outputs in no time, she was not very trilled about it, but she had grown fond of Castle in the past years.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." A male voice said from upstairs. Richard appeared from the hallway with Benno on his arms. Benno was very interested in the sounds his toy-phone made, he payed no attention to what was happening around him.

Father and daughter had been looking for houses on the web ever since Castle had his idea. Alexis had been thrilled when her dad told her they would finally fulfill her childhood dream. They were not being too picky with the requisites; both had decided the house should have four rooms and a big garden, everything else was a bonus.

Rick and Alexis were interested in 4 houses and they had made an offer to the owners. Two had replied to arrange a meeting date. Which was the appointment to which they were going.

-/-

The first house they visited was in the city's suburbs. A quiet neighborhood with a lot of trees and kids playing on the sideways. Castle liked that neighborhood. It looked like the perfect place for recording Desperate Housewives.

The house was a little bit different to what they had expected; not worse, just different. It was a Greek revival style house with 2 floors and an attic, the entrance had four big white columns and a porch.

"Good Morning, Castle Family!" A lady with a funny voice said from the porch.

She walked towards them.

"It is so lovely to have you and _your wife _with us" She added. Alexis suppressed a laugh. A mischievous spark danced on Rick's eyes. He looked at his daughter, who understood him perfectly. They would play along with the lady's story.

The lady introduced herself as Mrs. Gotlin, she and her husband were the house owners. Mrs. Gotlin looked a little bit shocked about how young Mrs. Castle was.

Rick and Alexis left the twins at a small playpen that was set on the living room. And as Mrs. Gotlin started showing them around they house, Castle began to tell _their love story. _Because of his writer nature, Richard was really good at inventing stories; and because she grew up with her father, Alexis was really good at following his lead.

Castle stated was a college teacher, and that he had felt in love with Alexis the first time she entered into his class. They had waited until the semester's end to start dating. It had been fireworks and rainbows since then. Alexis played along saying that she was raised up by a single mom, and everybody judge her relationship with the professor saying it was '_Daddy's issues_', but their love had overcome all obstacles and they were finally together now, with their two lovely twins.

Mrs. Gotlin watched them be so in love with an odd look. It was clearly she didn't approve of the way they met or the age difference between them. Alexis thought the lady was being ridiculous.

The house had been all modernized but maintaining the original style of the house; they both liked that, sometimes people modernized houses on the inside to the most trendy style with out taking in consideration it won't match at all with the outside of the house. The back porch had been converted into a lovely sun room using salvaged french doors and stained glass; Castle particularly liked that room, he could already imagine the kids doing their homework there, with Kate supervising, of course, because he would be the cool parent.

Rick and is faux-wife didn't even get to see the 2nd store when Mrs. Gotlin said she thought they were not what she and his husband were looking for. Castle raised his eyebrow.

"Actually, I think_ you _are not what we are looking for." Castle replied. She was confused. "I don't think I could ever make a business with someone who judges other people by their love life."

His daughter kept her thoughts to herself, but she didn't understand how something so stupid could bother the lady. They looked like a solid family, they _were_ a solid family, isn't that what really matters?

Mrs. Gotlin opened her mouth, but Castle didn't let her talk.

"Alexis is my daughter, but you assumed she was my wife, because you thought I knocked her up or God knows why. And even if she was my wife, love is love; and you are no one to judge it." Then he turned to Alexis "Grab your siblings, honey, we are going home."

Mrs. Gotlin was in shock; partially because she assumed incorrectly, partially because Richard Castle, the ex-playboy, had just given her a lesson about moral and ethics.

The exited the house, Alexis bursting into laughter. The twins, were holding both of her hands and walking next to her, clearly amused by their sister's laugh.

"Did you see her face at the end?" She said while they put the babies into their chairs. "It was priceless."

And her dad! Her dad had been amazing setting things straight to Mrs. Gotlin.

Rick started the engine with a smile on his face. It had been a while since he had heard Alexis laughing, and it was so refreshing.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi lovely OCDs,  
1st of all, I just realized that when I was replacing the old version of chapter 7 with a newer one I uploaded chapter 1 instead; I've changed it, in case some of you couldn't read that chapter before :)  
2nd, thanks for the reviews, reads, follows, favorites, etc., they make my day  
3rd, I have a partial on tuesday (not this week's but next one's), so I won't be able to upload until after that, hope you all understand :)  
Last but not least, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Abrazos!

Anna

* * *

Kate had an exhausting day at work. They had closed a really complicated case that involved 3 cold cases from the 90s. Even Captain Gates had recognize that Javi, Kev and Kate had done a good job.

The boys had gone for drinks, but the only thing Kate wanted was to go home to her family. It had been a rough week and she missed them.

She opened the door to find an almost dark apartment. Benno was sitting alone in the living room. When he saw her mom he said _Mommy!_ and pointed at her.

Kate smiled at her kid and looked around, it was not normal for neither Rick nor Alexis to leave the twins alone.

"Hi, Benno!" She said taking him in her arms. "Where are your sisters and your father?" She asked hoping to get an adult response from her toddler.

"I'm here!" A voice said from another room. "Sorry, I really needed to go to the bathroom."

Kate smiled as Alexis rushed from the bathroom to the living room, her belt still open.

"It's OK, Lexie." Her stepmom said calmly. Kate knew Alexis has old and mature enough to take care of her siblings, and she had been of great help since she moved with them. "Where are Castle and Connie?"

"Oh, about that! Hope you are not too tired, detective." Alexis said with half smile on her face. Kate raised an eyebrow. Sometimes Alexis was her father's female version.

-/-

"Are you going to tell me what's this all about?" Kate asked to the ginger that was driving.

Alexis had made her cover her eyes with a piece of clothe so she wouldn't know where they were going.

"It's a surprise." Alexis kept replying to all of her questions. Even though her eyes were covered, she could see Alexis smiling. Alexis's lively voice tone was back and it was a nice thing to hear again; almost two months had passed since Alexis had filled her divorce, but she was still sad at times.

Kate put her elbow in the window and rested her head on her hand. The window was a little bit open, she could feel the fresh air on her hair. _Fresh_ fresh air, not_ city_ fresh air. She breathed it in. Kate tried to image where Alexis was taking her. It was outside New York for sure, maybe Castle had planned a weekend at the Hamptons, it was friday after all.

But then again, why the secrecy? Kate had been at the Hamptons more times than she could remember.

The car stopped.

"Don't uncover your eyes." Alexis said. "Not yet"

Kate stayed in the car with her eyes covered while Alexis took Benno out from the back seat. Then her stepdaughter helped her out.

Alexis held Kate's hand, helping her walk. Kate knew they were close to their destination when Benno started saying _Daddy, daddy_. Alexis let Kate's hand go and told her to stay still, then Kate was left alone in the dark, with her eyes covered. She suddenly felt cold with out Alexis and Benno's warmth next to her.

"You may uncover your eyes now." A voice she knew too well said.

Kate followed her husband's command.

It took a few seconds for her eyes to get used to the light coming from the house that was in front of her. Her husband, kids, father and mother-in-law where on the porch smiling at her.

"Welcome home." Castle said with a smile in his face and a spark in his eyes.

Kate's eyes widened. _Home_. They had bought that beautiful house. She looked at it to detail everything on its façade.

The house had a colonial revival architecture; it was Kate's favorite style, ever since she was a little girl she wanted to live in a colonial revival house. It had two floors and a hip roof with dormer windows, which indicated that it was more than just an attic.

The façade was symmetrical; on the ground floor it was a beautiful porch, in the middle of it there was a colonial door with its fanlight and sidelights. On each side of the door, and evenly spaced from it, were windows.

The second floor had four windows and the beginning of a turret that went as high as the roof. In the roof, almost hidden between the turret and the dormer windows, a small colonial chimney could be seen.

Then Kate looked at her family. She walked towards them, smile on her face. She didn't know what she did to deserve all this, but she was going to enjoy it at much as she could. Castle received her at the porch with a warm hug and kissed her softly in the cheek.

Rick and his family entered to the house. The inside was poorly furnished because they still haven't moved anything from the loft, but it already felt cozy and friendly. They all sat next on the living room next to the chimney, Rick and Jim had decided to make some fire to warm them. It was nearly fall and the nights were already chill.

Martha and Jim were sitting on the only chairs that Castle had moved in, they were talking and laughing while they played cards. Alexis and her siblings were playing with some plastic cubes on the carpet, a little bit far from the fire.

Castle watched from his seat. He was on the stairs that connected the entrance to the living room; Kate, on the step below, was leaning on him, their fingers were tangled. She had a smile on her face.

The house was beautiful. Inside and outside. It was everything she ever wanted. She could hardly believe it was hers. But it was, it was _theirs_.


	13. Chapter 13

So, here I am! I know I promised I'd update on tuesday, but I was so busy I didn't even get watch this week's Castle until now! Speaking of updates, from now on I'll update once every week usually between saturday and monday, unless I die or state otherwise in the previous chapter (let's all hope it's the last one).

Thanks for the reviews, favorites, follows, visits to the page, etc. I'm glad to see such a positive response, I thought I was pretty much writing for myself.

Hugs,

Anna

* * *

It was nearly 3 p.m. when Alexis sent Kate a message saying she was outside the precinct.

That morning Kate had asked Alexis for a favor when she found Alexis in the kitchen. Kate would normally ask Rick, Alexis knew she didn't like to bother other people; but Rick had been so wrapped up with packing and moving stuff from the loft to the house that he had completely neglected _Broken Heat_. His editor and publisher were not very happy about it and they had started to put more pressure on him.

Kate had a box full of things she wanted to leave at the precinct, stuff that she didn't to have around with little supervision, her extra gun for example. The twins were already big enough to walk and open drawers on their own and Kate didn't want any accidents to happen; besides, having her gun was more than enough. She also had a box full of memories at the precinct that she wanted to take home; her mother's -finally closed- file, the cup she had used since the day Castle started working with her, some photos, etc.

Alexis didn't mind helping her stepmom, she had the day off at work anyway. But since she would have her hands full with the twins, she asked if Kate could send someone to help her. So here she was, waiting for the help, probably Ryan or Esposito.

_Don't text and drive_. Was Kate's reply. Alexis giggled when she read the message. Kate knew Alexis wouldn't do such reckless thing, especially with the twins aboard.

It was a perfect autumn day, sunny but chilly. Most of the trees were already colored in all tones of orange and yellow. Alexis liked every season of the year, but she loved autumn.

Before taking the twins out of the car, she put hats on their heads, she didn't want them getting sick.

A man approached Alexis while she juggled with Connie and Benno.

"Are you Detective Beckett's stepdaughter?" He asked.

Alexis looked at him. Definitely not Ryan nor Esposito. He was tall, more than a head taller than her. His skin was olive colored, that color girls would kill to have. His eyes were green and his brown hair was covered with hair-gel in a failed attempt to keep it combed.

"Yes." Alexis replied almost automatically.

"Aren't you too old to be her stepdaughter?" He asked interested.

"Aren't you supposed to just follow orders and not ask questions?" She answered with another question, the redhead didn't want to sound rude, but she was getting tired of getting asked the same questions over and over again.

He didn't seem to mind, though.

"James Starling, at your service." The cop introduced himself doing an Army salute towards Alexis.

Few people walking by, probably tourists, watched interested in what he was doing. She arched her eyebrow.

"Damn, girl." James said when he saw her reaction. "Don't you know how to smile?"

Alexis opened her mouth to come back at him, but she decided to keep quiet. Over the years Alexis had learned that keeping quiet was always the smart thing to do. James grabbed the box and followed the redhead as she walked into the precinct.

It was the first time the twins were in the precinct, that's why it didn't surprise Alexis when everyone shut up and turned to look at them. James looked uncomfortable with all the sudden silence and attention, though, after all he was just a rookie. She looked at him sympathetically and walked faster towards the elevator.

He let a breath out when the elevator doors finally closed. No more obnoxious stares.

"That was something I didn't expect." He said more to himself than to her.

She remained silent as the elevator machinery started working. Because of her father's status as celebrity, Alexis had been on the spotlight all her life; she was used to the feeling of almost no privacy by now. She sometimes wondered how different would have been her life if her father would have been an average person.

The elevator doors opened. At least now no one would stare at them. The homicide floor was not a crowded floor, and everyone in it was pretty much like family.

Benno ran out of Alexis's reach and into his godfather's legs. It took Esposito by surprise, but after realizing who had attacked him, he took the kid in his arms and started talking to him. Connie walked shyly at Alexis's heels; she loosened up a little bit when she saw Ryan, but stayed hidden behind her older sister. Alexis had a theory that said that Connie didn't like new places; Castle had said it was nonsense, no kid of his would have such problem, he loved going to new places with different people so why wouldn't his kids.

Kate was talking with Gates on the Captain's office, so the two detectives decided to take the Castle Clan into the coffee room. Alexis watched from Beckett's desk how Ryan, now carrying his goddaughter, followed Esposito copying his antics into the break room.

Alexis loved the break room, it felt like a second home. Not that she had spent a lot of time in there, but it was cozy and warm, and she always felt welcome in there. Maybe it was the light, the room had such a beautiful natural light, it always warmed until the last corner of her soul.

An impact of a hot liquid on her left shoulder brought her back to reality. She let a little involuntary scream out. Ryan and Kevin stopped chasing the twins and looked at her. She had been so busy thinking about the room and watching Connie and Benno ran from their godfathers that she didn't notice that James was walking towards her.

"I brought you coffee." James said embarrassed.

James tried to dry the coffee from Alexis's shirt with a napkin but she made a gesture of 'leave it'

"It's ok." Alexis said trying to relax her breathing after the thermal shock her body had just gone through.

_Coffee Stain. On her white shirt. Great._ She thought as she walked towards the bathroom to get clean. She didn't blame James, it had been an accident; but lately she didn't feel like having accidents.

Alexis let the water run and started cleaning her shirt. The reflexion in the mirror caught her attention. It was her reflexion, of course, but she looked so skinny and so sick; Alexis could barely recognize herself. She stopped cleaning her shirt and payed more attention to her image.

Her skin was paler than normal, she had huge bags under her eyes, her hair didn't shine like it used to do and it was darker than before. Her body didn't look healthy, she didn't have any muscle tone at all.

"I heard you where here." A female voice said. Alexis turned to meet with a smiling Kate. "So, _James..._ What do you think about him, good looking, right?" She asked excited

It took a moment for Alexis to understand.  
1. Her dad never refused an opportunity to pass by the precinct.  
2. Her dad never refused an opportunity to be with Kate, even if it was 2 minutes.  
3. Kate never missed an opportunity to see Rick.  
4. Kate could have sent Ryan or Esposito to help her.

It was like talking to Kate's body but with Lanie's spirit.

"You_ planned_ this?" Alexis said a little bit annoyed. Kate nodded with pride. "What is wrong with you?"

"Alexis, it's been two months since you divorced Charles. Don't you think maybe you should start moving on?" Kate replied to Alexis's question. She was using a motherly tone now.

"I_ have_ moved on!" Alexis defended herself. "I'm working, I'm going out..."

"You only go out with your baby siblings, Alexis." Kate interrupted her. "Which is amazing and you have been so helpful with them." Her stepmom added.

Kate walked closer to Alexis and squished her arm.

"But you need to go out, have your own life back." Kate looked in into the eyes. Alexis avoided her sight and turn her head towards the mirror.

Her skinny and sick reflection looked back at her. Maybe Kate was right, maybe it was time to move on.

"I just..." Alexis started. "How do you know my heart is not going to get broken again?" A little tear came out of her eye.

Kate hugged the ginger.

"I can't promise you that, Lexie." Kate said with honesty. "But I know that there is someone out there for you, and you won't find it if you are watching Baby Mozart with Connie and Benno."

Alexis giggle a little bit and looked at Kate with a half smile. The female detective smiled back and proposed to go home.

"By the way." Kate said while they were walking towards Javier and Kevin. "Your father also spilled coffee on me once."

Alexis hit Kate softly with her elbow to show her disapproval but let a laugh out.


	14. Chapter 14

Next weekend I won't be able to update because I have other test. Sorry!

Thank you for the new follows, reviews, favorites, reads, etc! I'm glad someone likes what I write :)

On a side note, I decided Alexis is an architect; I don't know, I just don't picture her as a doctor, maybe because I'm a med student and I don't relate to her at all.

Hope you enjoy this one, I hope it's not _too_ short!  
That's all!

Hugs,  
Anna

* * *

Alexis woke up to the delicious smell of fresh orange juice and hot pancakes. She spotted the food next to her bed.

_Damn it_. She thought. She needed to get out of the house before someone saw her.

Kate probably made Alexis's breakfast before living to work because she thought it would probably make Alexis feel better. What would make Alexis feel better was fast forwarding till the end of the day. One year ago she pictured this day so beautiful and meaningful, now it was just a burden in her heart. She didn't need anyone's pity, she had enough with the memories.

She ate while she dressed, as fast as she could. The house was silent, that meant that neither her father nor the twins were awake yet. She could exit the house with no problem.

It was a beautiful November day, the sun was shining and there was not any sign of clouds in the sky; Alexis decided to walk.

Some people hate winter because it's too cold, or because it's too wet. But Alexis thought it had its magic. As long as she wore a warm jacket and her plastic pink boots, nothing could bring her down. Except someone reminding her of today's date. She texted Kate thanking for the pancakes and notifying that she went out for a walk and that she'd turn her phone off to have some peace of mind.

About an hour later Alexis reached her destination; it was an old abandoned house that she wanted to rebuild. Alexis loved rebuilding houses, she considered it the Plastic Surgery of architecture. Besides, this particular house always caught her attention, it must have been so pretty back in the days when it was built.

She threw her backpack over the fence and then jumped it making sure no one on the neighborhood saw her. Even though she was not allowed to enter to private property like that; then again, this house belong to an old-kidless couple that died long time ago, so technically the house had no owner, living owner at least.

It was colder inside the house than outside, probably because the windows were broken and the chilly winter wind could do its job with no problem.

There were ashes in the chimney, some had been living in this house. She walked around watching all the details in the living room, the roof had splendid ornaments. The kitchen was small but could be transformed to become a cozy place for family dinner. Alexis reached the stairway; she has always afraid of climbing the stairs on abandoned houses, you never knew what was its state.

Alexis climbed the stairs step by step. Putting one foot first to check if the step wouldn't crumble under her weight. The upper floor had 2 bedrooms. She would start sketching in the smaller room.

She instantly fell in love with that room; it had a huge window that had a view over the garden, the ceiling was hip roof type. She could do so much with this room. Alexis started to make a draft. First thing she drew the space of the bed, it was next to the door, where the roof was the highest. Next she placed a couch and a little table in front of the window, it would have such a beautiful natural light for reading. She didn't want to add more furniture because she didn't want the room to be overcrowded. Alexis finished her first draft writing down the colors that would make a nice combinations.

Alexis was up to the next room when she heard someone opening the entrance door.

_Shit. Shit._ She started to panic. _Calm down, Alexis!_ Alexis told herself. She needed to focus how to get out of the house without being seen.

"NYPD. The neighbors called about a private property trespass." Someone said from bellow.

_Great._ Alexis thought. She wouldn't be killed by a homeless, she would end up in jail. The redhead didn't know what was worse, but at least dying wouldn't involve seeing Kate's disappointed face.

She heard the steps on the kitchen. This was pretty much her only opportunity to go to the ground floor and wait till the cop went to the second floor to make a run for it. Silently she went down the stairs and into the living room. From behind the wall she waited until the steps indicated that the cop was going up.

_Now or never. _She encouraged herself. With the bag on her back and taking a deep breath she walked towards the door.

"STOP!" Someone screamed and run down the stairs. Alexis stood still. "Hands were I can see them."

_RUN. _Said a part of her, but she knew that was not the wisest card on her sleeve. She raised her hands, they were all sweaty but cold; her heart beating like hell.

"Now turn around." Alexis didn't fight the voice of authority. She did as the cop said. "Alexis? What on earth?"

"I... I was sketching." Alexis told James. He lowered his gun and looked at her silently asking for a better excuse. "Today is my wedding anniversary, well, it was supposed to be... I just couldn't be at home... Everybody pities me, I hate it." James looked at her with sympathy.

"I'm sorry." He said really meaning it. "His loss, if I may add." James walked towards her. "If I'd ever be lucky enough to marry a girl as special as you are, I'd live to make her happy." He added, not looking at her face. Alexis smiled shyly.

"Thanks, James. That's very sweet." She said trying to meet his eyes. He took her backpack.

"Come on, let's go before my partner calls for back-up." He joked and opened the door for her.

James walked next to her towards the patrol. Inside the police car there was young police man Alexis had never seen before. He was mulatto and had huge green eyes, he smiled at his partner when he saw James approach.

"Alexis, this is my partner Jesse." James introduced the cop to the redhead. "Boulpaep, this is Castle's daughter. Look, this was all a misunderstanding, why don't you go back to the precinct and I'll walk Miss Castle home?" He suggested. Jesse arched an eyebrow, this was clearly against the police protocol, but he didn't say anything and fled of the scene.

Alexis and James started walking on the sidewalk. Their elbows brushed from time to time, neither of them said a word or moved apart.

"Thanks, you didn't have to go through all that trouble." Alexis broke the silence after five minutes of walking.

"It's no problem." He replied. "Jesse is a good friend, I'll bring him a cold beer and everything will be cool."

Alexis smiled, they could be the junior version of Ryan and Esposito. She watched the houses as they walked, now full of life. It was past 11a.m and the house wives were already cooking lunch for their kids and husbands.

"So, how about I invite you for a cup of coffee?" James asked. Still carrying Alexis's girly bag over his left shoulder. At first Alexis wanted to say no and make some excuse; but then she remember the talk she had with Kate couple of weeks ago, and the fact that James just saved her from going to prison.

"Just under one condition." Alexis said. James turned to meet her eyes. "Promise me this time don't spill it on my shirt." She said with a serious face, but then she smiled. He smiled too.

"I promise."


	15. Chapter 15

Here is the 15th chapter; which brings me to realize the fact that I've never written so much of any story, not even in spanish, so thanks for your support, it keeps me going!

I also want to add that even if I haven't write about Jenny and Kevin; they also have a life of their own and in this chapter some new Ryan members will be introduced. Just giving heads up so you are not confused.

Last but not least; this chapter is kind of short, but this weekend my social life demanded too much of my time (Strange... I know) and I didn't have enough time to sit and write. Anyway, I hope you guys like it!

Until next week!  
Anna

Oh, and my test went good! Thanks for the wishes :)

* * *

The garden was silent; the TV was off; the toy room was clean and the toys were in their place. No sign of Richard, Constance and Benjamin Castle. It was like they had vanished in thin air.

"Have you seen your father and your siblings?" The cop asked.

"No, I haven't seen your husband and your kids." Alexis replied without raising her sight from the cooking book she was reading. The redhead was helping her grandmother to bake a cake.

Kate continued the search for the missing Castles around the house. Everything in the living room was in order, no pillows in the floor, no food on the couch; Castle's office was empty, his computer was off. She was climbing up the stairs when she heard Rick's voice.

"No, Connie. We already talked about this. Don't take it off."

Beckett opened the kids' bedroom door to find a man dressed with a black cape. Castle turned around, he smiled at her. Her husband was dressed as Darth Vader, he even had a light sable on his belt and the mask on one of his hands. Connie and Benno were sitting on their strollers, both dressed in white clothes. Connie was struggling to take off the wig she had on her head.

Kate then realized what was going on, you didn't have to be a detective to figure it out. The writer had dressed the kids like Luke and Leia Skywalker.

"Castle..." She started.

"I know, they look amazing, right?" He said excited. "I even got you a Padmé-costume!"

"I'm not dressing up, Castle." Beckett raised an eyebrow. There was no way she was putting a costume for their kids' first birthday.

"But, but you promised!" Kate sensed a tone of disappointment in his voice.

"Yes, for Halloween!" She replied. "Now go and put some other clothes before our guests arrive."

Richard Castle knew that whenever Mrs. Castle gave an order with that tone, the best was to follow her commands without asking questions. You did not want to be Mrs. Castle's blacklist.

Kate watched her husband exit the room with a smile on her face. Everyday that passed by she loved that man more. He was a geek, but he was _her_ geek. Sometimes she wondered if the kids would like him more than they'll like her; Rick was definitely more fun than she was, he was also more carefree and more relaxed when it came to break the rules. And she was the one following the rules, making the twins have good habits and healthy routines. Of course Benno and Connie will like him more.

Kate shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. She changed Connie's clothes first as she looked really uncomfortable on her Leia costume. The cop dressed her baby girl with a white dress and a pink, deer-patterned, fleece coat. Benno's Star Wars costume was changed into blue-jeans, a light blue shirt and a, also deer-patterned, blue vest.

By the time Kate went down the stairs carrying the twins, some of their guests had already arrived. She could hear her father and Martha laughing and making sounds with pans and other cooking utensils in the kitchen; Kevin was avidly talking with Richard, now dressed in khaki pants and a blue shirt; and Jenny and Alexis were happily chatting and supervising Ava and Declan.

Ava, a 5 year-old blonde blue-eyed girl, was Kevin's oldest child; she already looked like a miniature version of her mother. Declan was 3 year-old and no one could point out if he looked like Jenny or like Kevin; his hair was blond and his eyes were like Jenny's, but his cheek bones were like Kevin's, he was a perfect mix between both parents.

"Hey, little guys!" Kate said putting the twins in the floor next to the Ryan children.

Ava immediately stopped playing with the soft toys and ran towards the twins, it was no secret that Connie was her favorite toy; she probably thought the baby girl was a living American-Girl. Declan stayed sitting in the floor, not noticing the two babies until Benno sat next to him and treated with taking away the toy he was using.

"I hope I didn't forget to tell you, I invited James." Kate told Alexis while she sat between Jenny and the redhead. Jenny smiled at Kate, it was obvious she already knew about James. Alexis sometimes wondered if Kate, Jenny and Lanie had no other things to do with their lives than to mess around with hers.

"No, you didn't tell me. But I don't mind." Alexis replied trying not to show her real feelings. Truth was she and James had grown close to each other in the past weeks. He was an excellent friend and a good listener, exactly what she needed right now.

The bell rang. Alexis stood up and walked slowly towards the door to open it. She found James smiling at her.

"Well, hello." He greeted her as his eyes lightened up. He had flowers on one hand and a present in the other one. "These are for your mother... Stepmother... Detective Beckett... Kate..." He rambled. Alexis couldn't help but laugh at him while she took the flowers he was giving to her.

"Oh, James brought you flowers, how thoughtful of him." A female voice said from the porch. Lanie smiled at Alexis.

Alexis felt sorry for James. It was bad enough for her, but at least she didn't work with Kate and Lanie. James was every day of the week with them, she was sure it was torture sometimes.

"They are for Kate." Alexis replied trying to protect her friend. She started to fear that comments like Lanie's would drive James away.

The two Latin-Americans entered to join the party without asking any more questions. Inside there was a joyful atmosphere filled with laughs and conversations, a typical family reunion.

Alexis looked at James and pushed her lips together.

"Sometimes is crazy around here." The redhead said. "You'll get used to it." She added with a smile.

James smiled back at her. He knew that Lanie and Kate would eventually stop trying to fix them up; he knew Alexis was not ready to be on a relationship; he also knew that she was worth waiting.

"Let's go inside." He said with that cheerful voice tone he always had when he was with her. "It's freezing. Plus, I think your father will like what I got for the twins."

"Yeah, and what is that?" She asked with curiosity.

"Star Wars stuffed toys." James answered with a smile. Oh, yes, her dad will definitely like that present.


	16. Chapter 16

'Sup, guys!

So, I know this chapter is_ too_ short - The shortest one, actually- and that you guys deserve _so_ much more than this; but I am really busy with college, I'm entering midterms, not that you care so I'm not going to bore you with that, but please don't hate me too much :)

I'll try to upload during the weekend, but I won't promise anything.

Once again, thanks for reading, reviewing, following, alerting, and all the other _-ing_ you do :)

Anna

* * *

Kate heard the house's bell rang from the kitchen. Her hands were dirty from the flour she had just used to bake Castle's favorite cookies.

"Castle! The door!" She screamed to notify her husband about their unexpected guests.

No response.

"Castle! Door!"

Nothing.

The bell rang again.

Kate closed the oven's door with her hip and cleaned her hands as she walked pass the living room, towards the door. The living room was a mess, Castle had been playing with the kids and 'forgot' to clean up. It was so typical Castle. She bet he was somewhere in the garden, playing with the twins and not doing any of his chores nor trying to be at least somehow helpful.

Before opening the door, Beckett checked through the window to see who was standing on the other side. A smiled draw on Kate's face when she saw Lanie standing on her porch; Lanie waved at her, she looked excited.

"Lanie!" Kate said opening the door and hugging her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I have some great news!" Lanie said with a joyful tone. "Javier and I are going to get married."

"That is amazing!" Castle said from the hallway with Connie and Benno on his arms. The three Castles were covered in mud and grass.

Beckett looked at him with a raised eyebrow, now he decided to appear. Always for the gossip, never for the actual work. And the twins were a mess! Kate was pretty sure they were_ hunting worms_, Rick's new favorite hobby. She found it disgusting, last time they had gone for a worm hunt, Connie had ate mud and had indigestion the whole day.

"Did you dig a hole with your kids, Castle?" The M.E. asked. "And by '_with_' I don't mean '_in company of_' but '_using them as the tool_'." She added. Castle giggle at first but stopped when he saw the serious faces of both females.

"I'm going to bath them." Rick said quickly. "By the way, great news, Lanie! Congrats." He added as he went up stairs.

Castle knew that Lanie coming over was the reason he was still alive. Kate had told him that she didn't want the kids hunting worms again; he didn't understand why, though. It was fun and it boosted the twins' immune system, excluding the fact that Connie got diarrhea last time. But in general, all doctors said kids should be exposed to the world, and last time Rick check their garden was part of the world.

After fixing the water to a comfortable temperature, Rick placed carefully both kids on the bath tube. The water instantly turned brown because of the mud, some pieces of grass were floating around the kids. Castle let the water drain and started cleaning the kids. Connie liked taking baths, she loved when Rick or Kate washed her hair; Benno, on the other hand, was a little bit more reluctant, giving him showers was worse than bathing a dog. Benno started splashing the water with his hands.

"Calm down, little boy. We all have to get all nice and clean for Mommy." Castle said washing his head. "Or I'll be dead, and you'll have no Daddy to play Guitar Hero with."

The smell of cookies made his stomach churn, but he didn't appear in the kitchen until both, Benno and Connie, were clean and their hair was dry. He was still dirty, but he know Kate didn't mind that as much as she mind the kids being filthy.

"About time you made your entrance, Mr. Castle." The Latin-American lady greeted him with a smile. Richard sighed; Kate wouldn't kill him, at least this time.

"Lanie almost ate all your cookies." Kate pointed at her friend with a smile.

"It's ok." The writer said placing the twins on their seats. "We have something to celebrate tonight, right?" He said, remembering the reason why Lanie had stopped by.

Castle took three glasses and poured milk in them.

"To breaking the rule of _'no relations on your working place'_." He raised raising his glass. Kate and Lanie laughed and toasted with him.


	17. Chapter 17

Hello people!  
Here is chapter 17, hope you guys like it!

There won't be upload until March 28th at least, but if I don't appear until April 5th don't get freak out, I have a HUGE test coming soon. So hang in there :)

I'd also like to thank my beta, phnxgrl. You rock, T!

Hugs,  
Anna

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be fine?" Kate asked her. She rolled her eyes then smiled.

"I'm sure, Kate!" Alexis said with a smile.

It was not like the NYPD cop didn't trust her stepdaughter, but she was kind of nervous to leave the kids alone for the first time.

"Besides, you both need a night-off from the kids!" The redhead said as she squeezed her stepmom's arms.

"Hell yeah! We haven't had a night alone since the kids were born." A voice said booming from the stairs.

Rick stopped next to his wife and put his hand on her lower back. They both looked breathtaking so much like a famous couple going for the Golden Globes gala. Rick was dressed in a Tux, he looked handsome as always; Kate was wearing a dress decorated with emerald sequins, it looked like something Elie Saab would design.

He had made reservations on an expensive new restaurant; judging by the critics, the place look like a billionaire's party and the food was delicious.

"I'll be fine. I'll call you in case something goes wrong. But we'll be …" Alexis said being interrupted by the door bell.

"Are you expecting someone?" Kate asked while her father walked towards the door.

Alexis felt her cheeks burn, but Kate didn't say anything, so the redhead guessed it didn't look that obvious. Rick greeted the person standing on the door and guided him toward his wife and daughter.

"You look amazing, Detective Beckett." The guest let out when he saw Mrs. Castle. Kate's eyes moved from the guest to the host letting a small smile grace her face.

"You can call me Kate when we are not at the precinct, James." The Detective said to her colleague. "Well, we should get going Rick." She added without asking further questions to her stepdaughter.

The married couple left the house talking and laughing; when Mr. & Mrs. Castle's voices couldn't be heard anymore. Then awkward silence descended upon them. Alexis and James stared nervously at each other. Both were not sure what to say or do. The redhead bit her lip. This was exactly what Alexis feared being awkward when she was alone with a man. She had been so much time with Charles that she couldn't remember anymore how to do it. A grin appeared on James face. He always found something to make him smile.

"I think you are doing great" James said as if he could read her mind. She looked confused. "My sister also had trouble communicating with men after her husband died. You are doing much better than her."

James must be one of the sweetest guys Alexis had met. Sometimes she wondered how he was still single. Maybe he's gay? No, no, Lanie had a pretty good gay-dar. That could not be possibly it. Alexis thought.

"We have to feed the kids." Alexis said finally breaking the silence then walked pass him into the kitchen.

Connie and Benno had been playing in the toys room the whole day. Benno didn't like playing with Connie. But Connie was like her mother, she really knew how to give orders. Benno, like his father, knew how to follow them.

"You guys are getting heavier!" Alexis let out when she took them both on her arms. "Soon I won't be able to carry both you guys at the same time."

"Here, let me help you." James tried to take Benno from her. Alexis looked at him with a worried look in her eyes. "Relax will ya? I have 13 cousins and 4 nieces and nephews. I'm not going to drop him." He explained with a smile. Alexis was a little bit more calmed when he told her of his vast experiences. Then Alexis reluctantly gave Benno to James since he was getting too heavy in her arms plus she did not want to drop them.

James started talking nonsense with the little guy then walked towards the kitchen.

The two grown ups fed the kids then placed them in their beds. Alexis first changed Connie's clothes then gave her to James to place first while she dressed Benno in his Pajamas.

She heard James's voice while she entered with Benno dressed for night in his pajamas. She stopped to listen. He was telling a story to Connie. It was about a beautiful Princess whose heart was stolen then broken. It had the challenges of a brave knight that tried to fix it. In this story the knight went to the Evil Witch's lair to seek her help. The price he had to pay was that the princess would never fall in love with him.

The knight loved the princess so much and seeing her happy was the thing he wanted the most, so he accepted. The princess was happy once again but she would not acknowledge the knight. In despair the prince tried to bargain with the Evil Witch again. He offered his heart to stop those feeling but the Evil Witch would not accept the deal. The knight then decided to go far away from the kingdom and never come back.

"What kind of story is that?!" Alexis asked voicing her indignation. James surprised looked at her.

"One with a sad ending…?" He replied stating the obvious.

"How can you tell that to a baby?" She asked with more anger flecked in her voice. She knew the world was tough but she wanted Connie to feel safe in her little bubble as long as she could.

"She's one year old! She doesn't understand a word of what I tell her." He retorted having to defend himself. "She just understands my tone of voice. That makes her feel safe and loved."

Alexis didn't feel like fighting with James. Especially, because he was mostly right. However, that did not make her feel any less angry. Looking down she saw that her baby brother had already fallen asleep. The redhead gently put her baby brother in his bed. She kissed both babies' foreheads then quietly left the two siblings to rest.

"I'll text Kate telling her the kids are alright then we can watch a movie." Alexis proposed as they closed the twins' bedroom door.

Alexis gave James the baby monitor then she went to the kitchen to grab her phone. When the redhead came back James was already comfortably sitting on the couch. Superman's movie menu was on the screen. James looked at her with a smile on his face. Some days ago Alexis had commented that she had never seen the first version of Superman this offended his geek sensibilities. Apparently, you were not allowed to call yourself a geek if you haven't seen Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve in the same movie.

The redhead sat next to her friend and he covered her with a blanket. She texted Kate, then rested her head on his shoulder before he pressed start. Being comfortable Alexis forgot about the fight then luxuriated in the closeness.

On the other side of the city Kate checked her phone once again.

"Would you please stop checking your phone?" He asked his worried wife. "No news, good news, remember? Besides this is Alexis the queen of doing everything right!"

"Alexis wrote. The babies are sleeping." Kate ignored her husband and continued to read the message.

"Great. Now, give me that." The writer took his wife's phone then put it in his pocket. "No more phone. The kids are alright, ok?"

Kate put her hand over his then gave him a beautiful smile. His heart almost exploded from the amount of love he felt toward the mother of his children. 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love' started playing in the background. Rick grinned remembering that case

"Care to dance, Detective Beckett?" He asked his wife.

"I don't know, Castle. Will you be able to control yourself with the warmth of my body over yours?" She said on a not-so-innocent voice.

"You are still a tease." Rick replied rising then he offered his arm to her. She accepted it. He had known Kate for 10 years. They had been together for 5. She was still the same hot woman that he had met during that book launch party.

Mr. and Mrs. Castle entered the dance floor. Kate put her hand on Rick's arm and he placed his on her lower back. They began dancing to the rhythm of the music then the world around them vanished. It was just the two of them, the writer and his muse, like it used to be. Rick gave her a look of complete love.

He once saw on a _How I Met Your Mother_ episode that in every relation there was a _reach-er_ and there was a _settle-er_, Rick knew he was the _reach-er_, and boy! How lucky he was. She was like a drug to him. Once he had a taste from her lips he couldn't stop the urge to taste more! He knew in his heart he was addicted to his wife but he did not care.

Kate rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled because her hair smelled like cherries. Something he had long ago associated with all of her. Rick pulled her close. He was lost in world which only she and he existed. There was no longer any song. He didn't know if it had ended and did not care. He had Kate in his arms and everything in their world was great.


	18. Chapter 18

Hello lovely readers!

Thanks for the readings, reviewing, favorite-ing, following, writing private messages about ideas, etc. and most of all, thanks for your patience on my time of writing and publishing. Next couple of weeks will be intense in school, I'll try to upload as often as I can, but a student's gotta do what a student's gotta do, no?

A special thanks to my beta, _phnxgrl_ for everything she does for the fic.

Hope you guys like this one!

Hugs,

Anna

* * *

"UNO!" Castle screamed while throwing his last card on a deck. Beckett looked at him annoyed at losing again.

"Castle, we are not playing UNO, we are playing Rummy." Kate said being very annoyed at the 9 year old on the sugar rush.

"Either way…I won and you lost... Again…." Rick gloated as he pulled the cards toward him.

Rick was wrapped up in his victory when he saw his oldest daughter come down the stairs. She was wearing a beautiful rockabilly red dress. Her red hair was curled and puffy. She looked very vintage like from a 50's movie. His chest filled with pride, Alexis looked so beautiful.

"Bye, Daddy." Alexis said kissing his forehead. "Bye, Kate." Kate stood up and hugged Alexis. Kate was so thrilled Alexis was finally going on a date.

"Where are you going?" He asked the redhead, starting to deal the cards again.

"I'm going out." She replied putting her heels on.

"With James…?" He asked again while his eyes were focused on the cards he had placed. A grin appeared in his face. Neither did his daughter nor did his wife know if it was because he guessed correctly or because he had a good hand.

Alexis looked at Kate asking with her eyes if she had told her father. Kate denied it with a slow movement of her head. They both looked at Rick, who was still arranging his cards.

"Oh, please; give me some credit. I've been following a detective for almost 10 years!" The writer said looking at both of his girls. "Truth is I've noticed what was going on with James and Alexis since the twins' birthday. The way he looked at her and the way Alexis's eye shined whenever he made a joke. It was obvious to any bystander let alone a trained detective."

Alexis giggle was interrupted by the sound of a car's engine stopping.

"Well, that's for me." She said a little bit nervous.

"You don't have anything to worry, Pumpkin." Rick said as he passed his arm around her shoulders. "You deserve to be happy especially after all you've been through."

"It's just..." Alexis started to say but soon stopped. She didn't know how to explain herself. "I feel like I'm cheating on Charles." She knew it was stupid. They were divorced for almost 6 months. He had cheated, psychologically and emotional abused her but yet she still felt guilty.

"Alexis, some marriages don't work out" Her father stated. "That can't keep you away from trying to be happy." He looked at her blue eyes the redhead nodded. "We all deserve to be happy. And if you are happy with James then there's nothing wrong to it."

A small grin appeared on the redhead's face. She was very happy when she was with James. Even a short text made her day. A simple phone call with James made her feel happier than how she felt on her wedding day with Charles. Maybe that's what made her feel guilty about this relationship. She was so happy with James made her wonder if she was ever truly in love with Charles. It made her wonder if her marriage had been a fraud from the beginning? Because she did not love Charles the way a wife should love her husband.

"Earth to Alexis…" Her father's voice brought her back to reality. She blinked couple of times then shook her head to make the thoughts go away. Her father was right. She did deserve to be happy. Charles was happy with his colleague. So why couldn't she be happy with James?

Alexis put her jacket on then gently grabbed her dad's arm. Her father opened the door and walked his daughter to James's car. The rookie drove an old jeep wrangler. It was not a geek's car but it looked pretty cool. Rick could work with that.

It was as warm as a New York winter would allow it to be. James was waiting for his date in front of his car. As the two Castles approached he opened the car's door. Alexis greeted him with a kiss on the cheek then sat down. The rookie closed the door gently.

"I hope you guys have a good time." Rick said. James smiled relieved.

"I thought you were going to give me a curfew hour." Alexis quipped.

"Yeah, about that I want her back before 10." James looked his watch.

"But it is already 9." He argued. Rick laughed.

"Just kidding…I know you're not going to harm her." The writer tapped James's shoulder. "After all, you were there the night I was arrested for hitting her ex" Rick whispered so that only James could hear him, recalling the night he had the fight with Charles.

It had been the first time the writer met the rookie. At the precinct, when they were waiting for Kate to bail Castle out. James had recognized that he would have done the same if he would have been in Rick's place. Rick had liked the cop from that moment.

Rick stepped back on the sidewalk while he watched James drive away with his daughter. He stayed looking at the horizon until the car disappeared. Rick knew that James was the change Alexis needed in her life. He was genuinely happy for his daughter.

"Guess what." Kate said when Rick closed the door behind him.

"You cheated, changed your cards and won...?" Rick said sitting down.

"Well, that too." She stated tapping her cards on the table.

Kate stood from her chair then sat on Rick's lap. Rick swallowed and looked at Kate's full luscious lips then swallowed with his eyes darkening.

"But I was hoping you would notice that Alexis is out. Connie and Benno are sleeping." Kate teased him then she started unbuttoning his shirt. "I know something better to do unless; you want to play another round of cards." Kate seductively said.

Rick's mind was not on any card game as he kissed her on those full and oh so luscious lips. He stood up with Kate in his arms. She wrapped her legs across Rick's torso to make it easier for him to carry her. He placed his hand under her to support her as he carried her up the stairs. They were kissing all the way. He was getting old for this. He should have built their bedroom down stairs to prevent these kinds of situations. He'd worry about it other day. He wanted all his senses on his flawless wife.

He gently let his body drop on the bed with hers above his. Her hair brushed against his face. They stopped kissing for a moment to look into each others eyes. It was like the first time they had made love.

"I love you, Richard Castle." Kate whispered.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19! I can't believe we've made it so far :) - I'm honestly excited about it.

Thanks to my awesome beta reader phnxgrl, who keeps up with my spanish rambling and my grammar mistakes.

This chapter will be a short one but I won't be uploading until next month so I thought it would be good to upload it and explain why I will be absent for a time. I have two difficult subjects/tests this month and if I fail my mom is going to take my computer away - yup, I'm a uni student who still gets grounded because of bad grades... who said it ended in high school?.

Take care of yourselves and see you in a month or so!

Anna

* * *

"When I think about how much my life has changed in a year. I don't know if I should be thankful or scared. Life has awarded me with two beautiful siblings then it took my own baby away. Life gave me a marriage which ended with emotional terrorism and infidelity. And now life has given me James." Alexis said looking at Kate. "I'm just afraid and waiting to see what will go wrong next."

Alexis sat on the sofa where her stepmom was sitting then wrap her legs with her arms. Kate rested her hand on the girl's forearm and caressed it. She couldn't help feeling bad for her stepdaughter. It had been a tough year for Alexis. That should not let that adversity get in the way of having a good life. Alexis once was a confident woman. Now, she was having full on insecurities. It was like all the self-confidence problems she didn't have as a teenager came back to haunt her.

Connie, who was playing with some wooden blocks on the ground, walked towards the sofa then poked her sister. Alexis looked at Connie then smiled.

"Lexi..." The baby girl said raising her arms. She wanted to let Alexis know that she wanted to be with her. Recently, Alexis' siblings had started to speak more. Alexis' name was their top one word. The redhead reached for her sister then put her between her legs. "Lexi..." Connie happily repeated.

"Look, sweetie. I know life gets tough sometimes." Kate started while Alexis played with Connie's hair while Connie did the same to Alexis. "I mean, my mother was killed, I had to quit college, and my dad became an alcoholic..." Kate said remembering those horrible days. "There were days where I wanted it all to stop. I was seriously considering suicide. Only to take away the massive pain I was feeling. However, I am glad I did not succumb. I would have never met your Dad or you nor have all these wonderful children either. Pain sometimes can tell us things we rather not want to hear."

Kate stopped talking then Alexis raised her sight. Kate was such a private person that she had told only few people that part of her story. Alexis knew her Dad must have been one and maybe Lanie. She was privileged to know Kate trusted her so much that she confided to her. Seeing Kate so vulnerable made her understand that everyone had some bad periods on their lives. If you are lucky enough to survive those periods you can be alive and happy. Kate was living proof of that fact.

"I was alone for a long time even when I was in a crowd I felt very much alone." Kate continued. "Friends would ask me if I was doing OK. They were only trying to be polite. They didn't really care what my true feelings were at that moment."

Kate looked out the window as if she had almost forgotten how miserable she felt in the past. How everything seemed like her world was about to end. How she couldn't open up to anyone. No one or nothing could really make her happy. Even the summer days were dark and cold.

"How did you get pass it?" Alexis asked after a moment of silence. Kate could see her step daughter was genuinely worried. She smiled.

"Well, when I joined the 12th I was forced to go to therapy then I learned how to deal with it." Kate replied. "But I guess I only began to enjoy life again when I met your father."

Kate remembered the night when she first met Rick Freaking Castle. It was the night she took him down to the precinct for the first time. She could remember every day since that earth shaking event. He was this maddening man who managed to make her smile even when the day felt like hell. After he came into her life everything felt easier. She started to understand why some people say 'it gets better'. Rick had saved her in more ways that he could ever imagine.

Alexis grinned. Sometimes she envied the relationship Kate and her Father had together. They were perfect just for each other. Especially after so many years together the flare of passion was still shining as bright as it shined when they first met.

"But I hit a lot of stones on my way to happiness." Kate added just like she had just read Alexis' thoughts. "I mean, Josh... And don't get me started with other losers with whom I barely survived one date."

Alexis laughed.

"I'll go and see why it's taking so long for your Dad to bath Benno. Perhaps they both drowned?" She joked then left the room.

Alexis stayed in the living room with Connie in her arms. She looked at the baby with infinite fondness. Connie was such an innocent and lovable child.

"I swear, Connie; that I'll never let you suffer the way that Kate or I suffered." The redhead told the blue-eyed kid. "I'll do everything in my power to never see a tear escape your eyes."

The baby girl just looked at her. It was obvious she didn't understand a single word of what Alexis had said. She still smiled at the redhead then clapped with excitement as if she did.


	20. Chapter 20

So, chapter 20. I had to make it somehow special!

A big thanks to my beta phnxgrl, who not only corrected my grammar as usual but was extremely resourceful on this chapter. If it wouldn't be for her, this chapter would probably suck; so thanks, T!

Hope you all enjoy it!

Anna.

* * *

Rick took the bottle of champagne with two champagne glasses then walked towards the living room. There was his lovely wife sitting on the sofa. Kate smiled when she saw her husband walking towards her.

"Are we celebrating something today?" she asked naively.

"My fourth wedding anniversary," he replied sitting next to her. "Alas, my wife is not here."

"I could celebrate with you," Kate said following Rick's role play. "That's an expensive bottle of champagne you got there. It would be a shame to waste it."

She moved closer to him and started playing with his shirt's collar.

"What if my wife finds out?" Richard asked in a guilty tone.

"I locked the doors. There's no way she's going to find us." Kate said leaning towards him.

Getting into the role she started to kiss him on the neck. Rick let a breath out.

"But if you really want to be a good husband I can leave." The cop teased the writer.

"Oh, please." Rick said excitedly. "Don't stop."

Kate grinned. She moved to sit on Rick's lap then kissed him on the lips. His hands caressed her back. The simple kiss started to get more and more passionate. She began to unbutton Rick's shirt when she heard him say.

"What about the champagne?" He asked breaking the mood.

She stopped abruptly. It was so like him to do something like that.

"Forget about the champagne, Rick." She seductively said.

She returned to continue the Role Play but now Rick was not playing.

"But..." He said then he stopped her from kissing him. "It was pretty expensive we shouldn't just waste it."

"Ok, fine." his wife said in an annoyed voice tone. "You and your champagne can have a nice fourth anniversary."

"That's not what I meant..." Rick said as he looked at her trying to figure out where she was coming from or where is she going this was definitely not what he wanted.

She didn't look back at him. Her eyes were fixed on the wall. Figuring the role play was out of the question now. He stood up taking the bottle of champagne and the glasses then stridden out the room. Kate sat there then heard noises coming out of the kitchen. What on earth was Rick doing? Remodeling the house?

Curiosity was eating her alive. Rick was not the kind of man that gave up easily on something good. He was definitely not the type of man that destroyed things to manage his anger. She stood up and walked into the kitchen, just to find that it was empty.

'What the hell?' she thought. The sound was coming from a small radio. Confused Kate turned it off. Once it was quiet in the kitchen she heard the faint music of a melody classical song. It was the song that played for their wedding, their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Castle.

Walking around the house she discovered that the doors to closed terrace were where the music was the strongest. Opening the door she found the room lit by many candles. Rick was in the middle waiting. Kate smiled at his thoughtfulness, he invited her to dance. She of course accepted.

"You know" He said dancing together. "It was when we danced to this song for the first time. When I truly understood how fortuitous I was."

Kate sighed then laid her head on his shoulder looking down swaying to the music. She enjoyed being cherished and held in his strong arms. She also had blushed but Rick could only see the top of her head. They've been married for four years. Rick still managed to make her feel like a teenager. Rick kissed her hair; it still smelled like cherries, one of his favorite smells.

They continued to sway to the music.

Rick recalled with a grin the argument to keep Kate distracted when she stepped on the pressure sensor to the bomb. She could not move so she was a captive audience. That argument allowed Rick to show who fell in love with whom first. Fast forwarding to today it didn't seem to matter anymore. Or that's what he thought for a moment.

"Kate?" he asked as Kate gazed into his eyes. "Admit it."

She looked lost. So Rick did what always came natural to him he kept talking.

"Admit that you fell in love with me from the first day." Rick said with smile.

He so loved poking Kate to see her respond.

"I'd admit such thing if it would be true." she replied in a calm voice tone.

And that was not a lie. Kate knew she loved Rick even before their first case. She had loved and admired her man from the moment his books had help her get over her mother's murder. That was a secret Kate would always keep for herself. She breathed in Rick's cologne and felt the warmth of his arms around her.

Kate never believed in fate or serendipity or any kind of those things. That was strictly Rick's domain. He faithfully preached to follow the universe's demands any time he could. Today, after being with a guy like Rick for more than four years, she started to believe. It was possible she had been wrong all those years. Maybe things like luck do exist. If they did exist she was sure of one thing.

Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle was a very lucky woman.


End file.
